The present invention relates to a hand-held display device, including a pointer, and a method for its use with an electronic device to display a complete or a determined part of a screen image.
Several electronic devices, such as a mobile telephone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistent), an organizer, or a PC (personal computer) etc. are provided with a display or a monitor for displaying different kind of information. A typical personal computer system, notebook, or hand-held computer consists of a system unit, storage means, a display, keyboard and a mouse or other interactive input devices such as a digitizing tablet, joystick, lightpen etc. to control the computer.
The primary attributes of a display is the size of the display screen; the resolution of the display; and whether the display is monochrome or in colour. The size of a display screen can vary from, for example, 5 to 25 inches in diagonal dimension. The quality of output or the resolution of a common display or monitor is for example 640xc3x97480, 800xc3x97600, or 1024xc3x97768 pixels.
There is a variety of displays available from different vendors. These displays are designed to accomplish particular functions. An engineer needs a large high-resolution monitor for CAD-applications and a smaller monochrome monitor for the display of text and graphic information. A full-page colour monitor can be utilized for both landscape and portrait presentations. Also, hand-held data entry devices or computers are provided with a small display. A common hand-held data entry device has a limited keyboard and some kind of storage capability for the data. Another hand-held data entry device combines a hand-held optical wand with a keyboard. Stock clerks use such devices in stores to collect and enter reorder data.
For some purposes small flat-panels are required to save space. Flat-panels are used in conjunction with small size electronic devices such as notebooks, hand-held computers, mobile telephones etc.
Many vendors offer or are just about to offer hand-held computers. These computers are provided with flat-panels having for example a 640xc3x97240 resolution touchscreen, or 480xc3x97240 resolution touchscreen. Such panels or display screens cannot be too limited in size and resolution to be useful for their intended purpose, i.e. to present general software applications such as word processing, desktop publishing, spreadsheet, databases, internet applications etc. The limitations are set in view of the sight properties of a human being.
Consequently, a problem associated with prior art computer configurations is that access is needed to several types of computers provided with different displays suitable for different kinds of applications. As described above, a very small sized flat-panel of a hand-held data entry device, a mobile telephone, or a computer etc. is not at the same time capable of displaying full-screen documents in a proper and readable way.
JP-A-7 234 664 discloses a document image display, which reads out the contents of a document using a scanner and the image of the document is stored in a page memory. An area of the document specified by an operator is read from the memory and then magnified. The magnified area, stored in a working memory, is then displayed on an operation display.
Another problem or disadvantage associated with small devices such as hand-held computers or mobile telephones etc. is the cumbersome way in which applications and data are selected on the display of the device. Of course, it is not suitable to use a mouse in combination with a handheld device. Consequently, hand-held devices are provided with cursor control devices such as a trackball or a touch pad, in combination with push buttons, or arrow keys. However, said cursor control devices have a lower size limit, i.e. they must be large enough to be handled by a human hand.
An invention disclosed by a previous Swedish patent application No. 9703589-3 is directed to an improved display device for use with an electronic device, which overcomes one or more of the limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
It is an object of said invention to provide a hand-held display device for use with an electronic device, said display device being suitable for the purpose of a hand-held data entry device as well as for both landscape and portrait presentations of a full-page word processing document. Further, it can satisfy the needs of an engineer working with CAD-applications as well as for the display of text and graphic information. Also, hand-held computers can be provided with a display device of the present invention.
Consequently, another object of said invention is to provide a hand-held display device for use with a computer to display a complete or a determined part of a screen image in a proper size with regard to the current needs or requirements of a user.
Still another object of said invention is to provide a display device incorporated in an electronic device such as a mobile telephone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistent), an organizer, a data terminal to display a complete or a determined part of a screen image in a proper size with regard to the current needs or requirements of a user.
These objects are accomplished by a display device having movement sensitive means such as a micro gyroscope, strain gauge, piezo-electric, or equilibrium of force accelerometer etc incorporated in said display device, thereby being responsive to movements in the space for displaying the complete screen image in different magnifications, or in different parts.
Further, a method of displaying a complete or a determined part of a screen image in a proper size with regard to the current needs or requirements of a user is also provide by said invention, wherein said display device is activated by pressing an activation control button of said display device, and said display device is moved essentially in the plane of said display device, whereby different parts of a complete screen image are shown on said display screen, and/or said display device is moved essentially in a direction perpendicular to the plane of said display device, whereby the magnification of said screen image is changing.
However, an object of the present invention is to provide said display device with an appropriate cursor control device, small enough to fit in on said display device and large enough to be handled by a human hand in an efficient way. This is accomplished by a fixed pointer arranged on the display screen of the display device according to the invention disclosed by the Swedish patent application No. 9703589-3.